Plastic surface-covering



G. C. GLYNN.

- PLASTIC SURFACE covEmNG.

V APPLICATION FILED JAN-18,199- 1,348,278. Patented Aug. 3, 1920.

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NVENTOR UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUILFORD CRESSE G-LYNN, 0F KANSAS CITY, KANSAS, ASSIG'NOR OF ONE-HALF TO P. A. HILDERBRAN, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

PLASTIC SURFACE-COVERING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 3, 1920.

Continuation of application iled February 26, 1917, Serial No. 151,014. This application filed January l 18, 1919. Serial No. 271,914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUiLroRD CREssE GLYNN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, Ain the county of Wyandotte and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Plastic Surface-Coverings; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the-art to which it 'appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This application is a continuation 'of an application filed by me February 26th, 1917,

Serial No. 151,014.

My invention relates to plastic surface coverings for roofs, roadways and the like and the method of making the saine, and has for its principal object to produce a surface covering wherein inherent stability is effected by filling the voids of and coating a mineral aggregate base with a mixture of bitumen and colloidal soil capable of transformation into a plastic solid, as distinguished from other mixtures, which I term viscous solids, such as the usual sheet asphalt mixture and solids of like nature, in which the properties of the fluid phase predominate.

All surfaces, heretofore constructed with bitumen and stone aggregate, have relied upon the bitumen as a binding agent, and the arrangement of the stone for stability; mixing of aggregate for void reduction and choice of bitumen for resistance to temperature changes. These mixtures have ranged from coarse rock, insufficiently coated with heated bitumen, to asphaltic concrete and even sheet asphalt mixtures, all dependent, to a degree, upon the properties of the bitumen for a binder and the arrangement of the aggregate for the so-called inherent stability.

Such surfaces are Subj ect to disadvantages which I overcome, such as voids, water absorption, and in roadways, change of form and displacement under traffic, shoving or rolling-especially with temperatures above 80, and disintegration of the rock by impact, but most of all the initial high cost and difficulty of continuous maintenance and repair.

It is evident vthat economical reconstruction of such surfaces requires the use of eX- pensive heating and mixing plants wherein the stone and bitumen are confined and then h auled upon the roadway, or, in the less eflicient style of surfaces, the bitumen must be heated and used in a iuid state and in large excess if the void spaces are completely filled, which obviously adds greatly to the cost in addition to increasing the liability to deform or flow under the combined action of heat 'in roofs and both heat and trafc To impart a clear understanding of the,-

invention, I have illustrated the surface covering in its several stages of construction in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure I is a vertical cross section of a surface prepared for covering.

Fig. II is a similar view after the stone has been applied to the surface.

Fig. III is a similar view after the mixture of colloidal soil and bitumen has been poured into the stone.

Fig. IV is a similar view after the covering has been heated to render it immune to change. i

In my process, I were attempting to construct an ideal macadam roadway, it being understood that for roofs the method will' be substantially the same except for the preparation of the base. The surface 1 is given particular attention to secure stability by draining off I prefer to proceed as if excess water, and preventing the access of utilizing' the ner materials in. the bottom layers and, by preference, allowing the coarser stone, preferably of lg; to 2 inches in size, for-thetqp, thoroughly compacting the stone mass by vharrowing and. puddling, combined with rolling atthe proper time. pon this coarse stone top 1s then poured the mixture of colloidal soil and bitumen 3,

preferably-prepared in accordance with the method disclosed in my co-pending application Serial Number 138,133, that is, wherein soil containing colloidal material, a deflocculating reagent, such as v.sodium car*- bonate, and water are stirred to defiocculate the soil,the defldcculated mass heated, and

' iuid bitumen added `theretoto coat the individual soil particles.-

The mud that is poured in to the aggregate first consists of v`s'olids, lispersed particles, possessed .of colloidal .properties and surrounded with'an absorbed aqueous film,

combined with water as a dispersive niedlum, suchwater contalmng an electrolyte capable of furnishing anv excess of hydrox l or basicions inthe dispersive medium. o

. this is added'the fluid bitumen, which forms a coating upon the aqueous, bituminous filmabsorbed solid particles as the dispersoid,

and free 'water of alkaline reaction, together with free, minute globules of minor quanti-V ties' of the added `bitumen in suspension therein. 4

Such emulsions are a liquidy mixture in which the fatty, resinous, or asphaltic sbstance is suspended in minute globules in the dis ersivemedium. f

he bitumen I mention is not emulsified at all-or only to a -minor degree. It can readily be separated mechanically by proper rocedure. t issimply free bitumen, and do notwish to make any claim fof emulsi- 'fication or anyL of the alleged actions resulting therefro When the excess or free lwater escapes from this mud, it is obvious that Ihave a material which is in the condition of two s discontinuous phases, unless theI adherent film Water aty the lplastic stage should be tlm'lous on termed the continuous phase, and upon further drying the articles coated become cny at t e points of contact.

Such a material 1s still more or less capable. ofdispersion by the addition of water,

. in. lthat it can be remade into-mud, but is ve slowly absorptive of cold water.

f lhis transition stage is very important,

practically, as it allows ofthe use of Water tocausejthe'required dispersion requisite to `incorporation of the bituminous mud,i cold if ',desired, so that thematerialcan 'be shipped water, when poured onto the mineral aggre-l gate, fills the voids therein, which, when limestone is used, usually approximates from 4() to 44 percent. of the {Sep-three inches..

` Owing to the excess water and extreme mobility of the mixture, especially Awhenl warm, due to the minute size of the articles 1n suspension and then dlsperslve eflocculating effect of the added reagent, the bituminous mud thoroughly fills the void spaces,l

` acting like a liquid.

films of water closely adherent to the bituminous coated particles which were previously in suspension; .i

Such a mass is capable of compaction so that any opening caused by shrinkagecan be .closed by plastic iiow, or by filling such oplenin'gs and compacting the mass.

Such a asic. condition should not -be confused with one in 'which liquid particles are dispersed in a liquidv medium, as are emulsions and compounds when 1t 1s sought to make j and handled practically dry, and re-sus end- -ed in water for incorporation, a ding greatly to -economy and facility of use. 'The bituminous mud, in its ori inally thm i B5 condition or as made thus by remixture with the bitumen a continuous disperslve me-f dium.

After the bituminous mud has been poured into the aggregate, it is compacted while plastic and dried to a"substantially solid condition. I then effect the change that renders it practically immune from further change, namely, the application of heat.

When the surface .4; has been completed and the voids completely filled, the mass is a stable, fractureless, solid, capable of withf g standing any loadingthat it would be pos-y sible for the base to support, and no longer subject to deformation and flow as with free bitumen. It is, however, still susceptible to long continued'action of water in excess, so that to reach the final, perfected state, the

bitumen must be softened in the mass, soy that amalgamation and readjustment of the films occur, together with the flowing. of the excess Vfree globules pf bitumen into vany voids left by the egress of the water.

- Thus a plastic solid', inherently stable initself, immune from the ordinary effects due to changes in temperature, insoluble in water, and possessing all of the advantages of sheet pavement construction at a greatly reduced cost-is` produced.

.lt is apparent that resurfacing of an existing macadam can be effected inI the same;=

' manner, except that the preliminaries of" loosening the stone of the old pavement must be carii'ed out.

Obviously manufacture and repair of a roadway constructed in accordance with my improvement is much simplified, as the conveniently stored mixture has only to be filled into, or incorporated with the stone, a process both simple and inexpensive, absolute uniformity of a roadway is thus assured and definite control of the properties thereof no lonver conjectural.

aving thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is: y

The method of making surface coverings consisting of placing a loose stone surface, filling the voids of the surface Wit-h mud, 15 formed from colloid containing soil and "bitumen, drying the mass, heating the driedv mass and compacting the mass.

In testimony whereof I atiix my signature.

GUILFORD CRESSE GLYNN. 

